1.  Comprehending Mathemematics Carlye Carson USF Inquiry Conference 2015

2. Research Question  How can I incorporate comprehensive strategies into my mathematical instruction to help my students better solve mathematical word problems?

3. Rationale  After being in my classroom for six weeks, I have noticed that many of my students struggle in math. I first found out which students struggle with comprehension of word problems, which students struggle with the calculating aspect of word problems and which ones struggle in both areas. After I found out why the students struggled with math word problems I decided, I wanted to research comprehension strategies that could be used when reading math word problems. I want to know what strategies will help students comprehend math word problems. Students have to solve problems every day and to do so, they must first understand the information given to them and know what needs to be solved. It is the teacher’s job and goal is to prepare students for their future and for these real world experiences.

4. Context  Fun Elementary School is in the Hillsborough County school district who’s mission is to provide an education that enables each student to excel as a successful and responsible citizen. And their vision is to become the nation’s leader in developing successful students. Fun Elementary School is located in Tampa, FL and is one of 175 elementary schools in Hillsborough School District. Fun Elementary school has 621 students grades pk-5, a 11 to 1 student/teacher ratio, and has 83.4% of it’s students with free or reduced lunch. 44% of the students are girls and 56% of the students are boys. 42% of the students are black, 35.1% of the students are Hispanic, 15.5% are white and the rest of the students are Asian or other..

5. Context  My specific classroom has a total of 18 students. Out of the 18 students eight are girls and ten are boys. Eight of my students have been retained once in either kindergarten or first grade. I have nine English language learners, seven boys and two girls. My classroom has two white students, five black students, and eleven Hispanic students

6. Students Student 1  Never retained  DRA instructional level 8 in 1 st quarter  DRA independent level 16 in 3 rd quarter  Ongoing struggle in comprehension  English Language Learner  Average 80% on Unit Math Tests Student 2  Retained in 1 st grade  DRA instructional level 4 in 1st quarter  DRA instructional level 14 in 3 rd quarter  Ongoing struggle in fluency and comprehension  English Language Learner  Average 65% on Unit Math Tests

7. Data Themes Student 1  Comprehension  Overall ability (Reading)  Strategies  Math scores (Unit Tests)  Real World Problems  Survey questions Student 2  Fluency  Comprehension  Overall ability (Reading)  Strategies  Math scores (Unit Tests)  Real World Problems  Survey questions

8. Explanation of Themes  Overall ability : Used to show overall growth in all areas. All areas include: fluency, letter knowledge, phonemic awareness, decoding, comprehension.  Strategies : Comprehension strategies students can use to help them better understand a text.  Fluency : To speak smoothly, easily, or readily. DRA’s (2), Running Records (3), Istation, Real World Problems  Comprehension : Understanding of a text. DRA’s, Istation, Real World problems, Unit Math Tests

9. Explanation of Themes  Survey Questions : Questions I asked students to get an idea of what strategies they thought worked for them.  Example of survey question : What strategy do you think worked best for you? Why?  Unit Math Scores : The end of the unit math assessments that students take to see if they have an overall understanding.  Real World Questions: Real World word problems that students are asked to solve.

10. Quantitative Data Collection DataStudent 1Student 2 Comprehension (Istation)10/6: Below level (Better than or equal to 8% of students) ongoing struggle (Ability index) 10/6: Below level (Better than or equal to 10% or students) ongoing struggle (Ability index) DRA (1 st )9/5: Independent level 8 Struggles: previewing (developing) and retelling (developing) 9/9: Instructional level 4 Struggles: retelling (emerging) and reflection (developing) DRA (2 nd )1/6: Instructional level 16 Struggles: Reflection (instructional) and making connections (instructional) 12/1: Instructional level 14 Struggles: retelling (instructional) and reflection (instructional) Running Record (1)10/10: Instructional level 6 Running Record (2)11/7: Independent level 10 Running Record (3)11/18: Instructional level 12

11. Qualitative Data Collection Student Work  Real World Problems in notebooks  Weekly Homework  Class work  Group work Anecdotal Notes  Notes I took about my students working on word problems. I watched what strategies the students used to help them better understand the problem, how long it took them and if the students got the problems correct or not.

12. Qualitative Analysis

13.  Example Word Problem (GCG):  Joey puts his stickers in 5 rows. There are 3 stickers in each row. How many stickers does Joey have? (I read the problem to the students)  Student 1: Drew 5 rows with 3 stickers in each row and got 15.  Student 2: Drew 3 rows with 5 stickers in each row and got 15. (Anecdotal notes, 2015)

14. Qualitative Analysis  K(know)W (What is the question asking?)P(Plan to solve)R(Reasonable? Does my answer make sense?)  Manipulatives (modeling as you go) Student 1: I like using manipulatives to help me figure out the answer.  Reread Student 2: I like to reread because sometimes I forget what I read. (Student, interview, 2015)

15. Qualitative Analysis  Circle the question and underline information already known.  Quick pictures Student 1: Drawing pictures helps me solve problems because then I don’t have to do it all in my head.  Vocabulary posted or in notebooks (Student, interview, 2015)

16. Strategies for Students KWPRQuick Pictures

17. Findings  Students struggle with understanding what the question is asking in math word problems.  When comprehension improves in reading, comprehension improves in math.  Students prefer using manipulatives when solving math word problems.  Students struggle with deciding which information they do not need to know when solving math word problems.

18. Implications  After what I have observed in my classroom with my students, I can imply that as students get better at reading the easier it is for them to read math word problems but are not always able to comprehend what they have read.  I can imply that just because students do not answer a math word problem correctly, does not mean that they do not know how to apply the math skill being learned.

19. Conclusion  In conclusion, students struggle with understanding what a mathematical word problem is asking and need strategies to help them understand. After collecting and analyzing data I found that students need strategies to help them solve word problems. Strategies that worked with my students were rereading the problems, using manipulatives, and drawing quick pictures.

20. Future Wonderings  What do you do as a teacher if students struggle with both calculation and comprehension of math word problems?  What is the best way to know if a strategy is really helping the student?  What do you do if a child can not read the mathematical word problem at all?

21. References  Garbrick, Steve. (2005). Read it again, Sam  Kao, Emily. (2011). Connecting words to numbers.  Parker, Emelie. (2003). Reading for emergent readers.  Rawhouser, Julie. (2005). I’m a new teacher, how can I effectively teach math conceptually?  Reed, Diane., Warner, Amy. (2004). Revisiting reader’s workshop  Draper, Debbie. (2012). Comprehension strategies applied to mathematics.  Foster, Shannon. (2007). The day math and reading got hitched.  Glenberg, Arthur., Willford, Jonathan., Gibson, Bryan., Goldberg, Andrew., Zhu, Xiaojin. (2012). Improving reading to improve math  Siena, Maggie. (2009). From reading to math  Orosco, Michael J., Swanson Lee H., O’Connor, Rollanda, Lussier, Cathy. (2011). The effects of dynamic strategic math on English language learners’ word problem solving